I started running, my eyes widening, my heart dropping as the bullet struck her.
“NO! NO! NO!” I screamed. “Lauren!”
She turned, her eyes widening as she lifted her hand to her chest and stared at the crimson that painted her fingertips. I shook my head, tears falling down my face as Bones jumped in front of her, as two more bullets flew in her direction.
I skidded to a stop on the asphalt just as the two bullets pierced my best friend. I watched as his gun dropped out of his hand and his body lurched back from the impact of the bullets. His eyes met mine before he dropped to the ground beside Kitten.
My gun fell to the ground as my whole world crumbled before my very eyes.
Chapter Thirty-Five
I dropped to my knees between Lauren and Bones, the gunfire muffled by the sounds of my own desperate pleas.
There was blood everywhere.
His.
Hers.
So much blood.
I reached out, my hand trembling as I pushed her hair away from her face.
“Riggs,” she whispered, her lip shaking as she spoke my name.
“Shhh,” I sighed, bending over her and kissing her. “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay,” I chanted. I lifted my head and stared at the blood saturating her shirt, trying to locate where the bullet hit her. “You just have to stay with me, okay, Kitten? You need to stay with me,” I begged, lifting her head into my lap. “Please stay with me.”
I lifted my head and saw Jack rushing toward us.
“Call an ambulance,” I screamed.
“The baby,” Lauren struggled and I peeled my eyes away from Jack and glanced at her stomach, reaching over her and placing my hand that was covered in her blood, over her belly.
“Pea’s going to be okay but you need to hang on for her,” I said, my voice rattling.
“Her,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
“No, don’t close your eyes, Lauren!” I cupped her face with my hands. “Lauren, look at me,” I ordered.
She fought to open her eyes, the color draining from her face as she bled in my arms.
“Kitten, please,” I cried, lifting her head against my chest and rocking back and forth. “I was going to tell you how I felt.”
“Riggs,” she whispered, forcing me to look down at her. “If it’s me or the baby,” she gasped, short of breath. “Promise,” she struggled.
“No, stop, don’t talk like that. You’re both going to be fine. You hear me? You’re going to be fine and so is the baby!”
“Choose Pea,” she rasped, tears falling from the corners of her eyes as they looked up into mine begging me to do as she asked.
“I choose the both of you…always, forever,” I bent down and kissed her lips softly. “I’m sorry, Kitten. I’m so sorry,” I murmured, pulling back as her eyes drifted closed. “Lauren? Lauren! No!”
“Riggs, the ambulance is here. You gotta move out of the way so the paramedics can do their job,” Jack said from somewhere close. I lifted my head as the sirens sounded and the ambulance pulled into the lot. The paramedics jumped out, one grabbing a medical bag, the other pushing the stretcher toward us as the second ambulance pulled in.
“Her first, she’s pregnant,” Jack demanded. That’s when I saw him crouched down next to Bones, his hands covered in his blood as he tried to apply pressure to his wound. “Stay with me Bones. No one’s dying on my watch, you hear me,” Jack growled. “No one.”
“Sir, you need to step away from her so we can work on her,” one of the paramedics said to me.
“Please help them,” I pleaded, kissing Kitten one last time before gently sliding her head from my lap.
“How far along is she?”
“Uh…” I tried to think, running my fingers through my hair. “Seven months,” I answered.
“We have to hook her up to a monitor immediately. She’s losing a lot of blood,” the other paramedic shouted. “We have to get her out of here,” he continued.
I watched for a moment as they worked on Lauren, cutting her shirt open to find the wound and then turned back to Jack who was standing near Bones covered in his blood. I watched as they lifted my brother onto the stretcher before I stepped toward him. I glanced down at Bones as he gasped for air.
“Thank you,” I whispered, placing my hand over his and squeezing it slightly.
“Own…it,” he said, barely audibly before the paramedic covered his face with a mask and raced with him on the stretcher to the ambulance.
He shouldn’t be riding alone.
He never let me ride alone.
Not once.
“We’re ready,” the paramedic said behind me and I turned to Jack.
“Go, I’ll ride with Bones,” Jack said, reading the guilt on my face as he wiped the blood covering his hands onto his shirt. I nodded before following the paramedics running with Lauren to the ambulance.
I sat helplessly on the bench inside the ambulance. I couldn’t even hold her hand, forced to sit there and watch as a stranger fought to keep Kitten and Pea in my life.
I closed my eyes and everything hit me like a ton of bricks.
Every single memory.
Every single dream.
The first words she ever said to me.
What’s the matter handsome? Why so serious?
All the times I teased her and all the ways she gave it right back.
You’re despicable.
Oh baby, I love it when you talk dirty.
Kiss my ass, Riggs.
Anytime, Kitten. Anytime.
That first night I brought her to the clubhouse and brought her into my world.
Well now you’ve got me here, what did you plan on doing with me?
If only I knew we’d end up here…
I’m sorry, Kitten.
The night we made a baby.
Came here for a reason, Kitten, now it’s time to tell me what that reason is.
It doesn’t matter.
I disagree. I like your dress.
You should I wore it for you.
Finding out we made a baby.
I’m guessing you want to keep it
I’m keeping our baby.
Pea.
I call the baby Pea.
The first time I took my time with her.
Lauren.
Yeah.
Just making sure you’re real.
When I realized I had dreams and they were all of Kitten.
Don’t look at me like that.
Like what?
Like I’m a dream.
Starting to wonder if you are.
The last words she said to me.
Choose Pea
I watched as Kitten and Pea were wheeled away from me and into an operating room that was waiting for them, one last memory burned into my brain and to my heart.
A doctor introduced himself to me, but I couldn’t tell you his name if my life depended on it. Nor could I tell you everything he said as I heard every other word.
She lost a lot of blood.
Too much.
Your wife is going into shock.
Your baby is in distress.
Emergency C-section.
Remove the bullets and stop the bleeding.
All the dreams turned to nightmares.
The dream of Lauren.
The dream of Pea.
The dream of us.
It all hung in limbo along with their lives.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I was never afraid of dying. Granted. I never gave death much thought, figured it was just an end to a cycle but right now, death scares the fuck out of me. And still, not for myself, not because I’m afraid to die but because I’m afraid to live. Live without them.
For all I know, they could be gone.
You’ve taken three of my brothers, seems only fair I take three of yours.
Kitten.
Pea.
Bones.
Three lives.
Wu h
ad his three bodies. It didn’t matter that only one wore a patch, they all belonged to the Satan’s Knights. They all belonged to me. Everyone I cared about, everyone I loved was fighting for their life right now while I sat here in a waiting room, helpless and wishing I’d chosen God over the Devil. You can’t pray to the Devil to save those you love. That crazy fuck gets off on this shit.
The hospital’s automatic glass doors opened and the Bianci’s came running in, stopping just in front of Jack. Maria lifted her hand to cover her mouth as she gasped, taking in the blood that covered my clothes, while Anthony stared at Jack expressionless.
“Oh, my God!” She wailed, her eyes diverting back and forth between Jack’s blood stained clothes and mine. She lifted her grief-stricken face, her eyes crazed with anger as they peered into mine. She reared her hand back and slapped me across the face.
Anthony grabbed her but she snatched her arm free and started to pummel my chest with her fists.
“You son of a bitch. Look at you!” She shoved her hands against my chest. “How does it feel to have your child’s and my child’s blood all over you?”
“I’m sorry,” I rasped, welcoming the sting to my face, wishing she’d inflict more pain. I deserved to feel it but knew it wouldn’t be enough. I’d never feel the pain any of them are feeling.
Anthony pulled his mother back.
“This isn’t helping.”
“Nothing he does helps, he’s poison!” She hissed, glancing over Anthony’s shoulder at me. “If anything happens to my daughter or that sweet innocent baby, so help me God, I’ll kill you with my bare hands!”
“Get a hold on your mother, Bianci,” Jack seethed. “You want to blame someone lady, blame me, not him. While that may be your daughter fighting for her life in there, it’s also the woman he loves. It’s his child, not just your grandchild, not to mention his brother who stood in front of your daughter.”
“Jack, stop,” I interrupted. I deserved Maria’s anger, her blame, every fucking word was true. I did this to the innocent girl next door that came out swinging. I did this to the baby she was going to give me.
“No, fuck that. You’re entitled to your grief, Mrs. Bianci but the way you’re feeling, so is Riggs. It’s his eyes that watched them fall to the ground. It’s his hands that tried to stop the bleeding and it’s his goddamn heart that is bleeding now. So you need to pass the blame, blame me, because I allowed this shit to happen,” he growled.
She wiped furiously at the tears that streaked her face before throwing her hands up in the air and shaking her head.
“I blame all of you,” she pointed a finger at her son. “Including you, goddamn it.”
“Maria, come on, let’s sit,” Adrianna tried, taking her mother-in-law’s hand and guiding her across the waiting room toward a row of chairs away from the one’s we occupied.
“What happened?” Anthony looked at me. “Why was she there in the first place?”
“She wanted to talk about the baby. I figured she needed something or hell, I don’t know I was just fucking happy she called and told her to meet me at the compound,” I explained, running my fingers through my hair. “Man, I didn’t want any of this. You know that,” I emphasized.
“I know,” he said, turning his eyes toward Jack. “I don’t give a fuck about your goddamn club business. This shit is personal to me now. That’s my fucking family in there, my blood and your family ain’t keeping me at bay anymore. You hear me, brother?” he snarled.
Jack held Anthony’s stare but remained silent as I brushed past them, needing a break from everyone. I made my way through the parting doors, taking big greedy gulps of air as I ignored the stares of people outside watching me. I leaned against the wall, propping my boot against the bricks and watched as a man pulled his SUV up to the entrance. He walked around the car, opened the backseat and removed one of those infant car seats. He wore a big grin on his face as he slammed the door of his car and told the security guard he’d be right down, he was taking home his newborn daughter today.
A great day.
One that man would never forget.
It’s amazing how one man’s life can be complete while another man’s falls apart.
I don’t know how long I stood out there waiting for the man to come down but the moment I saw him wheeling his wife out of the hospital, I knew that’s why I stood outside and waited. I wanted to catch a glimpse of the happy family, and happy they were. Both mom and dad beamed from ear to ear as they worked their precious bundle of joy into the car.
I never wanted any of that. Standing here watching that couple, knowing I could’ve had that and not sure if my family will live to see a day like these people were sharing…well, now, it’s all I wanted.
I thought of Pea entering the world alone.
I hope he isn’t scared because Mommy and Daddy would make it okay.
We will.
Just give us a chance.
Hang in there Pea, Daddy loves you.
So fucking much it hurts.
I watched the family drive away from the curb before finding my way back into the hell that was now the waiting room of Lutheran Medical.
The doors opened and two doctors walked out, one lifted his eyes, pulling off the mask as he searched the room. The other doctor pointed to where we were sitting as they made their way to us. My eyes locked with the first doctors and I tried desperately to read his expression, to prepare myself for what he was about to say but he remained neutral. I kicked off the wall I was leaning on and started toward him, my brothers rose from their seats, flocking around me.
Anthony and Maria who were sitting across the waiting room, gravitated toward me, fear in their eyes as they stared at the doctors.
I felt someone take my hand and when I looked down, Maria’s hand was wrapped tightly around mine. I lifted my eyes but she looked straight ahead at the doctor. I don’t know why she took my hand, maybe she did it for selfish reasons, maybe she did it for me, or maybe she did it because Lauren would’ve wanted her to. Whatever the reason was, I was glad she did and I squeezed her hand back. I vowed to prove to this woman how much I loved and respected her daughter. And with that vow, came the realization that Lauren didn’t even know how I felt about her.
What if I never get the chance to tell her? What if I never get the chance to thank her for taking the detour and storming past the roadblock that guarded anyone from getting close?
“Are you the family of Eric Nicholson?”
Bones.
The other doctor opened the chart, glancing at it.
“He has a Robert Montgomery, listed as an emergency contact.”
“That’s me,” I croaked.
“Is he okay?”
Jack walked up beside me, placing one hand on my shoulder as he and the doctor exchanged a look.
“What? What is it?” I asked, as I diverted my eyes back and forth between Jack and the duo of doctors.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Montgomery. One of the bullets hit his lung and the other pierced through his heart. We couldn’t get the bullets out because we couldn’t stop the bleeding. We tried everything we could to save him but the blood filled his lungs.”
“No!” I shouted, trying to absorb what he was saying. “He’s dead?”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” the doctor said, offering his condolences as the other doctor bowed his head regretfully.
Jack gripped my shoulders, turning me around to face him.
“Bones is dead? Jack, Bones is dead,” I rambled, as he grabbed a hold of my shoulders and stared at me solemnly
“I’m so sorry,” he muttered.
“Bones is dead,” I repeated. “And I didn’t get to say goodbye or thank him,” I pulled away from Jack. “He jumped in front of those bullets, trying to save Lauren, trying to save my kid.”
I took a step backward, running my fingers roughly through my hair as I glanced around the waiting room at my brothers and the Bianci’s.
“He died trying to s
ave my family and he was alone when he died, no family, no brother. I didn’t get to say goodbye, and thanking him while he bled out on the ground isn’t enough. It’s not enough,” I shouted angrily, turning around to the doctors. “Can I see him?”
One of the doctors nodded.
“We’ve closed him up already. Give us a few minutes and we’ll take you downstairs,” he explained.
Downstairs.
The morgue.
My best friend was just another lifeless body in a freezer.
“What about my daughter?” Maria asked.
“I’m sorry but we haven’t heard anything on the other woman,” the second doctor informed us. “Just give us a few minutes. We will take you down, sir and hopefully get another doctor to give you an update on the young woman,” he offered, before turning around and leaving us.
Maria’s lip quivered as she glanced at Anthony.
“Why haven’t we heard anything?” she screeched frantically.
I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. First getting word on Bones and being told he didn’t make it, made me slightly relieved we hadn’t heard anything on Lauren or the baby.
No news is good news, right?
Say I’m right.
One of the doctors returned a few minutes later, informing us that his colleague was still trying to get information on Lauren and asked me to follow him. I stepped onto the elevator, along with the doctor and watched as the doors closed.
The memories hit me hard, and as the elevator dropped so did my heart. We went from kids, to rebellious teenagers, finally becoming men we were proud to be.
I’m a prospect, earning my keep, going to be a Knight one day, Rob.
Why do they call you Bones?
Because I was born to break bones.
Well I need a nickname too.
A Road name. How about Riggs?
Riggs?
Because you were born to walk away from the oil rigs and all that shit that comes with being a Montgomery.
Riggs, no last name, kind of like Eminem. I like it.
You got a kid coming, man. That’s huge. That’s bigger than you, bigger than your girl, bigger than anything you’ve ever known. I know the club is everything to you right now, you worked real hard for your patch but this, you becoming someone’s father? It’s bigger than the club. Own that shit.
The Tempted Series: Collectors Edition Page 117